In Contention

Category: Daily

  • TIFF: ‘Barney’s Version’ returns home, raves for Giamatti

    Last night’s North American premiere of “Barney’s Version” in Toronto was something of a homecoming for the Canadian production — it was, of course, first unveiled on Friday at the Venice Film Festival, where its soft-centered middlebrow appeal rather stood out against the more rigorous auteurism of its fellow Competition titles.

    If Richard J. Lewis’s film proved too MOR to impress Quentin Tarantino’s jury (even Paul Giamatti, much fancied for the Best Actor prize, left empty-handed) it was nonetheless enthusiastically received on the Lido, earning sustained applause, and even a few whoops, at the industry screening I attended. You’d expect, then, its home audience to be similarly receptive, though word seems pretty quiet so far.

    Via Twitter, Anne Thompson echoes a view I expressed in my own positive review, saying that “if [Sony Picture Classics] play their cards right, Paul Giamatti could get an Oscar nom” for his performance as a dissolute, thrice-married TV producer. (She later adds that the film’s after-party was “lame,” but I’m sure she won’t hold that against him.)

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  • TIFF: ‘Hereafter’ reviews reflect split opinions but indicate a potential Oscar player

    Yesterday’s knee-jerk reactions to Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter” fell in the overwhelming negative following an afternoon press screening.  At the time, I noted that festival quick takes should be taken in context and that perhaps more measured responses could tell another tale.

    Well, the embargo lifted roughly 45 minutes ago.  Variety’s Justin Chang has fired off a mostly positive assessment that admits the film’s triptych of stories comes together “creakily” and that the film is “uneven,” but he seems to be willing to cut the filmmaker a little slack by appreciating the lax approach conveying the narrative.  The film is “a beguiling blend of the audacious and the familiar,” he writes, “but is armored against risibility by its deep pockets of emotion, sly humor and matter-of-fact approach to the fantastical.”

    Screen Daily’s Mark Adams, meanwhile, calls the film “a bold change of pace” for Eastwood, praising him for not “resort[ing] to any clever editing to tell the three parallel stories…those interested in a shrewdly made and well-scripted drama about loss and compassion will be intrigued and impressed.”

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  • TIFF: ‘Brighton,’ ‘Virginia’ bow, ‘Super’ picked up

    At Toronto today, a hand handful of distribution-seeking films hit and one potential cult favorite found a home.  Let’s dig in…

    One film looking for a distributor that we’ve had an eye on as a potential awards play for supporting actress Andrea Riseborough is Rowan Joffe’s Graham Green’s  “Brighton Rock.” But The Hollywood Reporter’s Ray Bennett largely criticizes a “bloated score” that he says “overwhelms” the narrative.  But he had nice things to say about Riseborough by noting that she “adds to the film’s appeal.”  (See a new clip from the film after the jump.)

    The Jennifer Connelly-starrer “What’s Wrong with Virginia,” from “Milk” writer (and Oscar-winner) Dustin Lance Black, also screened.  Jeffrey Wells “didn’t give a damn about the angry rurals in Black’s world” and walked out of the screening.  The Film Stage’s Jordan Raup, meanwhile, called it “Solondz-lite,” and despite good things to say about Connelly’s performance, said the film “didn’t really come together.”  And Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir found it to be an unstable mix of “American Beauty” and “Blue Velvet.”

    And in the acquisitions department, James Gunn’s “Super” (which was well received at a midnight screening Friday night) has been picked up by IFC Films for its IFC Midnight banner.

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  • VENICE: Arrivederci, and notes on the winners

    (Updated list of Venice award winners here.)

    If you were on the Lido to the bitter end of the festival — and closing with “The Tempest” made it a very bitter end indeed — last night’s Golden Lion win for Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere” didn’t come as the shock it did to everyone else. In the closing days of the festival, a Chinese-whispers style rumor started circulating that Quentin Tarantino and many of his fellow jurors were besotted with the film from the get-go; at Friday night’s party for Tom Tykwer’s “Drei,” word that Coppola had been asked to stay in town for the awards ceremony spread fast. (I tweeted as much — don’t say I left you out of the loop.)

    But even if some of us got wind of it earlier than others, the news was still surprising when it landed. On the one hand, Venice has long been more receptive to more mainstream arthouse names than Cannes or Berlin — recent winners of the top prize include Darren Aronofsky, Ang Lee (twice) and Mike Leigh. On the other, “Somewhere,” which screened on the festival’s third day, didn’t seem to have much staying power in the critical mindset: I appreciated the film more than most, but the general consensus was that it was a likeable marking-time effort that seemed more likely to be recognized for Stephen Dorff’s breakout performance than the filmmaking itself.

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  • TIFF: ‘Conspirator,’ ‘Everything Must Go’ bow, praise for ‘Dagenham’

    More from Toronto tonight, so let’s dive in…

    Robert Redford’s “The Conspirator” bowed this evening at a packed gala screening.  At Hollywood News, Sean O’Connell brings up the already-getting-tired 9/11 parallels (which started with Patrick Goldstein earlier).  He calls Redford’s casting decisions “questionable” but considers the film “a solid effort, a compelling legal drama and a determined character study that will please students of American history, modern and otherwise.”

    The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt says it “feels like a television film” but that Redford “does a good job in developing the drama” and “the film largely rests on a character played with considerable emotional energy by James McAvoy.”  It’s a measured approval, in any case.  The film is still seeking domestic distribution.

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  • TIFF: ‘Passion Play’ inspires vitriol, ‘127 Hours’ keeps it steady, Estevez/Sheen back again, ‘Dagenham’ screens

    Moving along at Toronto, it seems Mitch Glazer’s “Passion Play,” which was as much for the director since he spent 20 years trying to get it made, was hung right out to dry and that Mickey Rourke can be knocked off of anyone’s list of awards hopefuls.

    David Poland calls the film “epically bad” and even suggests that the potential for a Megan Fox nude scene was probably the only thing keeping people from walking out.  Cinematical and eFilmCritic’s Erik Childress did just that, however.  He couldn’t take it.  Meanwhile, at Voice Film, Karina Longworth says “it’s hard to imagine that anyone will take [the film] nearly as seriously as it takes itself.”  What can you say?  It’s never a happy moment when someone works so hard at something so quickly and summarily dismissed.

    On the other end of the spectrum, Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours, continues to be welcomed with open arms.  Filmmaker Magazine called it “typically bravura filmmaking from Boyle. Both a celebration and a critique of solitude.”  MTV’s Josh Horowitz says it’s “an emotional wallop,” the LA Times’ Steven Zeitchik thinks it “elevated far above [a] typical rescue story by Boyle’s eye for detail and strategically deployed flash” and The Playlist’s Kevin Jagernath calls it “one of the best films of the year.”

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  • TIFF: ‘Hereafter’ underwhelms, ‘Let Me In’ bests original?

    I’ve been hearing for a couple of months now that Matt Reeves’s “Let Me In” is as good if not better than Tomas Alfredson’s original film (and a top 10 effort in my book), “Let the Right One In.” I won’t see it for another week or so, but early word out of Toronto dovetails with what I’ve been hearing.

    Jeffrey Wells says the film is “at least as good” as the original and that it is “carefully copied with a meticulous, unhurried, highly absorbing style.”  In fact, he eventually admits he liked it better this time around, largely because he was more impressed with Chloe Moretz than with Lina Leandersson.  MTV’s Josh Horowitz, meanwhile, Tweets, “It’s breathtaking and yes I think it’s better than the original.”  Variety’s Peter Debruge concurs, offering that the film “commands respect for not dumbing things down, offering classy, ‘Sixth Sense’-style crossover potential as it lures both genre suckers and fresh blood.”  And by the way, I’ve also been hearing that Michael Giacchino’s score could be something to watch for this season.

    Elsewhere, Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter” had a press screening at the festival this afternoon in what I imagine was a claustrophobic 139-seat setting.  Official reviews are embargoed until tomorrow’s public screening, but I’ve got some disheartening reactions after the jump.

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  • Underdog ‘Dagenham’ may have the AMPAS touch

    In Friday’s Oscar Talk, Anne and I pondered the Oscar potential of Sony Pictures Classics’ typically robust stable of contenders.  So far the best bet to have already hit theaters is Aaron Schneider’s “Get Low,” which could be a below-the-line play as well as a Best Actor possibility for Robert Duvall.

    Films from Rodrigo Garcia, Atom Egoyan and Jean-Pierre Jeunet all came and went, while Woody Allen’s didn’t inspire much at Cannes.  And that’s fine, by the way.  The business isn’t all about awards, obviously, and Sony Classics knows how to make money.  (There’s a reason the dependent is still standing tall.)

    If we properly assume “The Illusionist” will have its day in the animated feature category, while “Inside Job” will be relegated to the documentary field, that leaves three possibilities for Oscar success: Mike Leigh’s “Another Year,” the recently acquired “Barney’s Version” and Nigel Cole’s “Made in Dagenham.” The latter is perhaps the one to watch out for.

    This isn’t a revelation, of course.  Guy’s first stab at predicting this year’s Oscar set noted that “the Academy frequently likes its Britpics chirpy and digestible” and that Cole’s film was “getting ‘next Full Monty’ buzz on its way to a prominent launch at Toronto.”  Having seen the film last week, I have to say, I see his point.

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  • VENICE: Sofia Coppola’s ‘Somewhere’ wins Golden Lion

    Festival jury president Quentin Tarantino announced that Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere” was the unanimous choice for Venice’s top honor.

    The full list of festival winners (with commentary to follow later):

    Golden Lion (Best Film): “Somewhere” (review)
    Silver Lion (Best Director): Alex de la Iglesia, “A Sad Trumpet Ballad” (review)
    Special Jury Prize: “Essential Killing” (review)
    Coppa Volpi (Best Actor): Vincent Gallo, “Essential Killing” (review)
    Coppa Volpi (Best Actress): Ariane Labed, “Attenberg” (review)
    Osella (Best Screenplay): “A Sad Trumpet Ballad” (review)

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  • TIFF: Not so ‘Funny,’ ‘Super’ buyer interest, Redford still looking

    Things are slow moving at the start of this year’s fest.  People are catching up with press screenings of this and that, some of them Venice or Telluride or Cannes, with a few Toronto first-timers thrown in.

    Firstly, Scott Weinberg joins the dogpile on Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by calling the film “outrageously bad” and noting that its ilk is “best left for the festival circuit — which is where we suffer through the indie-style artifice so you don’t have to.”

    The market is in full swing, particularly around James Gunn’s “Super,” which screened late last night and stirred a lot of interest.  Movieline called the Rainn Wilson starrer an “instant cult classic.”  Buyers are also reportedly showing interest in Rowan Joffe’s “Brighton Rock” (as I imagined they would), so maybe we’ll see Andrea Riseborough popped up once again in that vacant supporting actress category shortly.

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  • TIFF: Boden/Fleck’s latest dividing audiences

    This hurts my heart.  Sure the trailer for Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” looked a bit twee, but after “Half Nelson” and “Sugar,” it’s okay to give a little slack and offer the benefit of the doubt.

    But some are walking away in outright disgust.  Tweets James Rocchi, “It’s a lazy, cliche-ridden artistic and emotional fraud that loves itself to death.”  Drew McWeeny, meanwhile, pulls no punches in his HitFix review, calling it “an agonizingly phony piece of work that struggles to be a sort of ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ for teenagers, but which ends up regurgitating platitudes in place of any genuine insight or emotion.”

    Elsewhere, the AV Club’s Scott Tobias straight up calls it a “let down” while The Playlist quips, “it’s kind of a disappointment.”  And this guy lands a devastating blow: “What’s worse than a calculated sell-out? A failed attempt at same.”

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  • ‘Hereafter’ trailer

    Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter” is set to play Toronto this Sunday.  No screenings in LA until after the festival but there have been a few vague reactions already.  The story revolves around current event disasters (the London tube bombings, the Sri Lanka tsunami, etc.) to tell a story of, you know, death and stuff.  The trailer just released via Apple and looks properly somber, revolving mostly around Matt Damon’s character (of the reported triptych).  What else to say other than that?  Check it out by clicking the link below or watch an embed after the jump.

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  • Eat your heart out Mr. Hemsey

    Brroooowwnnng!

  • VENICE: Jury duty – award predictions and preferences

    The Venice Competition lineup officially wrapped today with one of its lightest and most mainstream selections, “Barney’s Version” (reviewed this morning).

    With only the out-of-competition closing film “The Tempest” left to screen before I head back to London tomorrow evening, allow me a moment to sift through the runners and riders for the festival prizes – at the same time as Quentin Tarantino and his (hopefully) merry band of jurors much be contemplating the same thing.

    They have good reason to be merry: as a friend and I agreed this morning, festival director Marco Mueller has assembled a truly outstanding Competition field this year – thoughtfully balanced in terms of highbrow and middlebrow, genre and esoterica, veteran auteurs and younger ascending talents.

    (More thoughts, plus Golden Lion predictions and wishes, after the cut.)

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  • TIFF: ‘Conviction’ reviews trickling in

    I had hoped Fox Searchlight would screen Tony Goldwyn’s “Conviction” here in LA during Toronto, but I guess I kind of understand why they didn’t.  I’ve heard nothing but “meh” things on the film since day one (the first reaction I heard was from someone who saw it before the studio even picked it up).  That ambivalence is reflected in Brad Brevet’s C+ review of the film out of Toronto.

    Brevet calls it “a rather simple film” and notes that “the emotional impact of the story comes through in the end after what is a rather mundane and cliched story of the innocent man in jail and the person working hard on the outside to get him out.”  Well, I guess I could have gleaned that from a synopsis.  Dig, Brad!  Oh, here we go:  “At no point does this seem like new territory, but outside of being about ten minutes too long, it’s a film that works despite its rather traditional dramatic nature.”

    Wouldn’t “traditional” be a guarantee that the story would work?  In any case, I’m just having fun here.  Most I’ve talked to seem to think Sam Rockwell could charge to the front of the supporting actor derby.  Brevet writes that the actor plays the character “with enough eccentricity to make it believable, but never so much that it feels like a caricature trying to be larger than the scene.”

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  • Another scene from ‘The King’s Speech’

    A number of you were thirsty for more after yesterday’s look at a scene from Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech.” Today we get another one, courtesy of Awards Campaign:

  • ‘Client 9’ poster

    One of the films I’m very much looking forward to this year is Alex Gibney’s  “Clinet 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer.” I imagine, given Spitzer’s appearance in “Inside Job” and that film’s brief detailing of Wall Street types’ obsession with prostitutes, it could dovetail nicely with Charles Ferguson’s study.  And as noted plenty of times, it’s looking like a hell of a year for documentary features.  Magnolia Pictures will release the film November 5 and today, courtesy of Vulture, we get a look at the poster.  Check out the full image after the jump.

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  • Whoa there, hoss

    With the fall festival season and all it’s expected “prestige” product going before many sets of critical eyes over the next two months, I think it would be smart to heed Danny Leigh’s words at The Guardian, who warns, “Never let me go overboard.”

    The problem with the Oscar season is that it can be a rush to dismantle or anoint, and the greatest offenders are already sharpening their knives or fluffing pillows for a soft landing.  All I can ever do is be honest about what I think about a film and give early thoughts on awards potential (something that is always in flux, mind you).  But sure, the freshness of an unexpected doosey or an overwhelming positive experience can tip the balance of coverage at these fests.

    Peter Sciretta recently wrote about the issue of reviewing at festivals and I agree with much of what he said.  It’s why I prefer the more relaxed weekend of Telluride to the marathon of something like Toronto.  But Leigh hits it right on the mark.  He drags out David Poland’s already battered “masterpiece” review of Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go” and uses it as a case study in “too much” when it comes to praise.

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